Airport likely to continue pursuit of airline carrier

New board member, who opposes passenger carrier, not expected to change direction

Matt Mercer, elected Tuesday to the Northeast Florida Regional Airport Authority Board, does not want the airport to bring in commercial passenger jet carriers, like Skybus, and he advocates returning the airport’s name to The St. Augustine Airport.

“We’ve got five different board members, and they each have a voice,” Wuellner said. “The addition or subtraction of one member probably isn’t going to result in any major change of direction.”

Mercer, a local attorney and general aviation pilot who worked in the commercial aviation industry in Atlanta before moving to St. Augustine, was outspoken during his campaign about his opposition to bringing in commercial jet passenger service to the airport.

He defeated incumbent Jim Werter, also an attorney.

Mercer said Wednesday that there is no need to turn “a very robust” general aviation airport that is currently “the ideal size” into a large commercial passenger destination.

“I would like to clarify, however, that I am not opposed to growth, certainly for the county,” Mercer said. “But as far as the airport is concerned, we like the size and scale of things today.”

The idea of large, commercial-sized jets booming into the county’s air space goes against what makes the area so attractive, he said, recalling when the defunct Skybus Airline flew out of St. Augustine in 2007 and 2008. He said people throughout the community, especially neighbors of the airport, prefer its use be limited to smaller planes.

“We have a lot of people in the county who remember their houses shaking from those large planes,” Mercer said Wednesday, echoing a similar statement he made during his campaign.

Mercer also wants to change the name of the airport back to The St. Augustine Airport.

“One of the great assets of our city is the unique brand, and the name is part of that,” Mercer said. “I can’t tell you how much sentiment I’ve heard to return to the St. Augustine name.”

Recruiting carriers

Wuellner, who was in Jacksonville on Wednesday for the Jacksonville Commercial Airline Summit, said he’d been talking with four commercial carriers, hoping to attract them to his facility.

“I can’t speak for the board members, of course, but I can tell you that the majority opinion of this board is toward growth,” Wuellner said. “That’s been a focus here for several years, and we’re looking to support leisure tourism by seeking out specialty, niche carriers that would fit our market.”

Board chairman Carl Youman agreed that sustainable growth was the philosophy of the board, and he said the idea of attracting commercial air service was a vital component toward staying off the tax rolls, which the airport has done for the past three years.

“The overall direction is still the same,” Youman said. “We want to maintain the processes that were put in place by our predecessors. Keeping off the tax rolls means we need revenue, and bringing in a commercial carrier will provide that.”

Passenger service ‘beneficial’

Youman said he didn’t feel that Mercer’s election necessarily represented a change in what the community expects of the airport.

“Matt’s thinking is a little bit different than most of the members of this board, but we welcome his input,” Youman said. “But I’ve been canvassing the community for years on issues related to the airport, and the question I get asked all the time is ‘When are we getting a passenger carrier?’”

Kirk Wendland, president of the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce, said he’d met Mercer but had never had an opportunity to sit down with him and discuss the issues.

“I’d rather not discuss Mr. Mercer’s views specifically, since I can’t speak for what those are,” Wendland said. “But I can tell you that I’ve had several conversations with Ed Wuellner and several members of the board, and I’m convinced that some kind of commercial air service would be immensely beneficial to this community.”

Wendland said passenger service would enhance the county’s economy, both in terms of the tourism industry as well as local business.

“Any time you can make it convenient and affordable for a business traveler to stop in St. Johns County, it’s going to be a good thing,” Wendland said. “Obviously, we support the idea of economic growth.”

Despite his differences with the board’s endorsement of growth, Mercer said he had “no doubt that we’ll be able to work together.”

Youman said the board’s work is a team effort and that he felt the overall vision would not change too much.

“Matt was voted in by the people, and we welcome him and look forward to working with him,” Youman said. “This board is here to serve the community and be answerable to the people who elected us.”

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A commerical air service at our small airport is not needed. People have always found a way to get to St. Augustine without a commerical air service. They will continue to come and visit and enjoy our area without one. There is no need to bring all that "noise pollution" into our small, quaint city. There are commerical/international airports within a very short driving distance to both the north and south of SJC. Keep the commerical airlines out!

As far as the comment directed towards the Chamber - sometimes the truth hurts and this current Chamber leadership does leave a lot to be desired. President, chairman, etc.... are all lacking what we need here in SJC to improve commerce.

If it ain't broke, dont fix it. Leave the airport the way it is. Who wants all that traffic and air pollution in our beautiful city? It is so convenient to just drive to JAX or even MCO (Orlando) airport. And there are companies that are already at the airport. What effect would it have on the workers there. There are right next to the airport runways. Leave it alone.

My family and I loved the convenience of Skybus and are anxiously awaiting their replacement. My friends and neighbors find nothing convenient about driving over an hour to any airport. It makes good business sense to bring in a new airline. We all can not wait as we are all frequent travelers. And, before any of you ask, yes, I have lived right next to a very large commercial airport. I knew when I moved to the community that the airport was there and I never was bothered by it at all. In fact, their was a large mitigation package that sound proofed all our homes and gave us all new windows. This is available to any community living with a commercial airport. It's a federal program.